


bright little things (burn before they shine)

by meekinheritance



Category: Deadpool - All Media Types, Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: Adopted Children, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, BAMF Peter Parker, Childhood, Cute Kids, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Families of Choice, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Gender Issues, Gender-Neutral Pronouns, Humor, Kid Fic, LGBTQ Themes, M/M, Nonbinary Character, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Precious Peter Parker, Protective Peter Parker, Protective Wade Wilson, Recovery, Romance, Secret Identity, Single Parents, Trans Male Character, Trans Peter Parker, Wade Wilson Needs A Hug
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-11
Updated: 2019-03-11
Packaged: 2019-11-15 10:19:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18071546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meekinheritance/pseuds/meekinheritance
Summary: “Peter Parker?”“That’s me."“I saw your resume online, and thought you might be interested in a kindaexclusive opportunity.”“You saying it like that makes it sound illegal, you know that, right?”“Huh? Oh, no, sorry, guess old habits die hard! No, name’s Wade Wilson, and I’m not asking you to do anything illegal. I’m looking for a ...guess they call it a ‘nanny’, or ‘childminder’, in Ireland. Ain’t that cute? Someone to watch my kid, basically, while I do that money-maker thang. I know it isn’t your field, but I saw you’re in grad school, and my kid likes science. Thought you two might get along, and I figured I could work around your class schedule, y’know, make it worth your while.”“...I have one too. A kid, I mean. My daughter. She's two, so if this doesn't pay enough for me to afford daycare, I’d have to - ”“Bring 'em with ya. You got time for a playdate interview combo sometime soon?”Or, two single dads try to balance housework, potty training Bennie, grief recovery, finding a Pre-K that won't misgender Ellie, and their respective brands of super-heroism. It’s not really a surprise to anyone involved that they learn how to be a family along the way.





	bright little things (burn before they shine)

**Author's Note:**

> this fic will be as cute and domestic as you'd expect from the summary, with a little angst and plot/action on the side.

“Peter Parker?”

 

It’s 7:30 in the morning on a weekday, and he’d gotten in at 4am from patrolling. He wouldn’t have answered if he weren’t looking for a job, but he is, so. Sleep is secondary.

 

“That’s me,” Peter says, trying not to sound groggy.

 

He doesn’t bother lifting his phone off the pillow.

 

“Sorry to wake you, I know it’s an _ungodly_ time of day, I wish I was still asleep too, but I wanted to make sure no one else got to you first! I saw your resume online, on please-gimme-a-job-literally-any-job-please-god-please dot com -”

 

Peter snorts and covers his mouth to quiet himself.

 

“That’s _not_ the name of the site.”

 

“- and well, I thought you might be interested in a kinda _exclusive opportunity_.”

 

The voice is vaguely familiar, but he can’t place where from. It’s a little warped by the audio on his four-year-old phone and by his own sleepy brain. Not to mention, the voice is deep and raspy, with slight dialect that could be vaguely Minnesotan or Canadian. Peter doesn’t have a great ear for it.

 

“You saying it like that makes it sound illegal,” Peter points out, rubbing his eyes. He _is_ a bit desperate for a job, but not ready to go into sex work. Yet. “You know that, right?”

 

“Huh? Oh, no, sorry, guess old habits die hard!” the man laughs heartily. “No, name’s Wade Wilson, and I’m not asking you to do anything illegal. I’m looking for a ...guess they call it a ‘nanny’, or ‘childminder’, in Ireland.”

 

He does a pretty good Irish accent for the last few words.

 

“Ain’t that cute? Anyway! Someone to watch my kid, basically, while I do that money-maker _thang_. I know it isn’t your field, but I saw you’re in grad school, biochem - congrats on your huge brain, by the way - and my kid likes science? Dunno where that’s from! I’m more of a language guy myself. Thought you two might get along,so figured I could work around your class schedule, y’know, make it worth your while.”

 

Peter sits up in bed, intrigued and skeptical. And a little amused, if he’s being honest. He’s never been congratulated on his ‘big brain’ before, at least not in such blatant terms.  

 

It sounds cool and all, but -

 

“...I have one too. A kid, I mean. My daughter,” Peter  blurts out, “She's two, so if this doesn't pay enough for me to afford daycare, I mean, my aunt can only watch her sometimes, so I’d have to -”

 

“Bring ‘em with ya,” Wade says for him, not skipping a beat. “You got time for a playdate interview combo sometime soon? I’m in Upper West Side.”

 

Damn. It must pay alright then.

 

Peter looks at his calendar, skimming the scribbles where he’s mapped out his schedule.

 

“Doctor’s appointment for Bennie on Tuesday...Wednesday is all day classes - yeah, okay. I have a class on Thursday that they let me bring Bennie to,” Peter says as he rubs his face, “It ends around one and I don’t have anything else the rest of the day. We usually hit a park after.”

 

“At Empire State, right? That’s not far from us. We’ll let the kids run around while we talk. We could meet at...say, two?”

 

“Sure, which park?”

 

“Diana Ross is a favorite of ours, but Mariner’s is more toddler friendly for your little tyke, so let’s go with that one this time.”

 

Peter can’t tell if his tone is more cocky or hopeful when he says ‘next time’. Either way, it’s sort of charming, and Peter is a little thrown by how eager the man is to employ him. That’s definitely a step up from the cutthroat ‘prove yourself to us for a chance at being chosen’ mentality that he’d come across in every NYC business or university owned lab.

 

“I’ll be there,” Peter tells him.

 

“I’ll text to confirm witchya, juuust in case. My job can be demanding, so somethin’ might come up, fair warning, but I’ll do my best to be there. I’m an excellent texter, if I do say so myself, so we can reschedule all nice ‘n’ tidy. If you get an offer in the meantime, lemme know so I can steal you from them, mkay?”

 

“Okay, will do.” Peter tries not to scoff at the idea.

 

He hasn’t had many bites to speak of, at least not from a place that was willing to pay him decently, work with his classes, and still leave him time to spend with Bennie _and_ be Spider-man. Sleep may end up being secondary most of the time, but he does still need _some_ of it.

 

“Til Thursday then. Toodles!”

 

It’s only when Wade hangs up the phone does his voice click into place, and he blames having the conversation while half asleep.

 

“Wait, _Deadpool?_ ” Peter exclaims, loudly enough to stir Bennie from sleep. Her white blonde curls shift as she squirms and turns over. Peter holds his breath, reeling as quietly as possible.

 

 _Wade_ _Wilson,_ that’s who that was. _That_ Wade Wilson.

 

He’d only met him a handful of times, as Spider-man, but it had been a while, definitely over a year. Last he knew, he was a mercenary living in San Francisco, not Upper West Side, Manhattan. He had been something of a friend to Peter at some point, but it was hard to develop a rapport with someone who disappeared for months at a time and whose ideology was fundamentally different.

 

Deadpool also hadn’t been a father, last time he checked.

 

But what did he really know about the guy? It wasn’t like Spider-man’s associates knew about the whole single father thing. She was even more of a reason for Peter to keep his identity secret.

 

Maybe the job offer was too good to be true. The more he woke up, the more he thought so.

 

Nearby ESU, willing to work with his class schedule, willing to let him bring along Bennie? It was probably worth it even if the pay wasn’t great, but considering where Wade apparently lived now, how likely was that? Maybe there was something illegal to it.

 

Worse even, maybe he knew about Peter being Spider-man, somehow. It was his job to track people down, but why bother with this whole nanny charade then? That didn’t make any sense. His paranoia likes the thought a little too much, but the logical part of his brain says it’s a coincidence - he’ll be able to fish for more information when they meet in person.

 

For now, he googles the mercenary - ah, ex-mercenary. Interesting. He does a little more research and finds that Deadpool is actually a reserve Avenger now, and has been officially for the last six months. Peter had turned down their offer, but it looked like Deadpool hadn’t.

 

Good for him. But also -

 

Crap, does that mean that he lives in Stark Tower? Is that where Peter will be taking care of his kid, if he takes the job? His heartbeat picks up just thinking about it.

 

“Papa?”

 

Peter exhales, glad for the interruption and resigned to be up for the day.

 

“Yes, Bennie, I’m up,” he tells her, turning over to watch her eyes blink at him through the mess of hair he’s going to have to wrangle into hair bands soon enough. Peter peels the blanket up welcomingly. “You want some morning cuddle time?”

 

“Mhm hm,” she mumbles blearily, stumbling the few feet from her bed and climbing up into Peter’s. She nearly slips on the sheets as she scrambles up and Peter is ready to catch her arm, but she doesn’t end up needing the help.

 

She curls up into his chest and he wraps the blanket around them both.

 

“Auntie May?” she asks after a few minutes, muffled by the fabric of Peter’s nightshirt.

 

“Still sleeping, I think,” Peter says thoughtfully. Usually she’s out of bed before him, but even she doesn’t want to get out of bed this early, especially on the cusp of winter when the blankets are even more inviting than usual. “Since we’re up before her, why don’t we make breakfast?”

 

“Nnnn, no,” she answers, as she does more often than not these days. She’s just discovered the meaning of it, is beginning to understand its power.

 

“Really?” Peter whispers, exaggerating his surprise. “Not even if we make... _pancakes?_ ”

 

“Yeah!” she squeaks happily, but doesn’t move to dislodge herself just yet. Even if he can feel the energy beginning to vibrate through her.

 

“Yeah? Yes to pancakes?”

 

“Yeah,” she agrees, giggling and holding onto him tighter.

 

“Then we need to get up soon, Bennie. Or Auntie May will beat us.”

 

“Naminute.”

 

Peter laughs softly, squeezing her a little bit.

 

“Yeah, in a minute.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> i really wanted to write a single dad fic and i've also been wanting a vigilante!peter and avenger!wade thing, and thought this would be a good place to do that. wade is more legit than peter is, haha!
> 
> please let me know what you think so far ~<3


End file.
